Former American League president and award-winning baseball executive Larry MacPhail, part of the only father-son combination elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, died Thursday in Delray Beach, Fla., of natural causes, the Hall of Fame announced.

MacPhail, inducted in 1998 after a five-decade career in MLB front offices and with the American League, was the oldest living Hall of Famer, having celebrated his 95th birthday with family and friends two weeks ago.

Born Oct. 25, 1917, in Nashville, Tenn., MacPhail was the son of another Hall of Fame executive, Larry MacPhail.

The younger MacPhail followed in his father's footsteps by serving as a front office executive in baseball for 45 years.

"Baseball history has lost a great figure in Lee MacPhail, whose significant impact on the game spanned five decades," Hall of Fame chairman of the board Jane Forbes Clark said. "As a Hall of Fame executive, Lee developed one of the game's strongest farm systems for the New York Yankees before serving as American League president for 10 years. He will always be remembered in Cooperstown as a man of exemplary kindness and a man who always looked after the best interests of the game."

Beginning with the Yankees in 1949, MacPhail served as farm director and player personnel director for 10 years, building a system that led the team to seven World Series titles and nine pennants during his tenure.

In 1959, he became the general manager of the Baltimore Orioles, laying the groundwork for the 1966 World Series-winning team as well as one of the most successful franchises in the modern era.

In 1965, MacPhail became the chief administrative assistant to newly elected baseball commissioner William Eckert. Sporting News named him Executive of the Year in 1966. He then returned to the Yankees as general manager from 1967-73 before being elected president of the American League.

From 1974-83, he oversaw among other things the AL's expansion into Toronto and Seattle, helped develop the designated hitter rule and ruled on George Brett's famous pine tar home run.

In 1981, he was instrumental in negotiations about free agency that helped to end a players strike. He resigned after the 1983 season but continued his work in baseball as the president of MLB's Player Relations Committee.

Lee MacPhail was elected to the Hall of Fame's board of directors in 1974, making him the longest-tenured member of the current board. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1998 by the Veterans Committee.

No funeral is planned at this time. A memorial service will be at a date to be announced.

In lieu of flowers, the MacPhail family is asking that donations in his memory be made to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, N.Y.